though bashing the heck out of Di Canio is pretty easy these days, it was only 5 years ago while starring for West Ham that he was given FIFA’s Fair Play award for the following incident in a match with Everton :

West Ham’s newest saint of sportsmanship, Paolo Di Canio, has been taken by surprise at the praise he is receiving for stopping play at Everton.

The Italian caught an injury-time cross after seeing goalkeeper Paul Gerrard lying in pain during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Everton.

Di Canio said: ‘Just as I did not expect to be branded a psychopath when I pushed over (referee) Paul Alcock, I did not expect the praise I am getting now.

‘I saw the goalkeeper doubled over. I saw his knee twisted in the wrong direction. With outfield players it is different, we occasionally have a fall. But I guess he is heavier and got his studs caught in the pitch.

‘I could hear him screaming in pain and I understood right away it was serious. That is why I was yelling at Trevor Sinclair to stop so Paul could get some medical attention.’

Gerrard was immediately replaced in goal by Steve Simonsen. But the 32-year-old Hammer, linked with a move to Lazio last week, said he reacted instinctively rather than thinking of the possible advantage for his team.

‘It seemed like the right thing to do but I didn’t really think about it. A serious injury to any professional is far worse than losing two points.

‘Would I have scored? You can’t say for sure, but without the goalkeeper and a big, wide open goal, I’m sure I’d have had a good chance.’”

DiCanio’s pro-Mussolini remarks in his autobiography made only the tinniest stir in England. At that point, he was an established fan favorite (a wild turnaround following the altercation with Alcock — not unlike the way Knicks fans embraced national pariah Latrell Sprewell) and was doing all sorts of ads on television. No sieg heils for the cameras of course, but then again, he wasn’t playing against Roma.